Circular knitting needle



Feb. 22, 1949. v. M. DELANEY CIRCULAR KNITTING NEEDLE Filed Sept. 19, 1947 [nu l/tor Vfi'g/nia M. Delaney Patented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in a circular knitting needle and more specifically pertains to a knitting implement whereby a series of needle points are selectively and detachably connected in pairs to a flexible chain or the like.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a knitting needle which may be employed for knitting circular articles and which shall be extremely flexible for the purposes intended.

Additional important objects of the invention reside in providing a knitting needle of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph, which shall be especially adapted for knitting various types of articles and which may readily be provided with detachable needle points.

These, together with various ancillary objects of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view illustrating the construction of the circular knitting needle;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a detail, showing the manner of attaching the needles interchangeable points to the flexible body thereof; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the end of the flexible body of the needle, showing the attachment for releasably securing the needle points thereto.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals indicate similar parts throughout the various views, l designates the flexible, rod-like body portion of the implement, which is preferably formed of a flexible chain of any suitable construction. As will be understood, the chain may be of any desired length and material.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the extremities of the chain are provided with detachable needle points or tips which are preferably of a rigid nature, and each tip has a shank or hand portion 12 which at one extremity thereof terminates in a conical knitting needle point It, axially aligned with the shank l2, while the other extremity thereof is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the needle, as indicated at 16, and terminates in a conical tapering needle It is to be understood that the needle tips may be formed of any suitable conventional material, but are preferably intended to be relatively rigid compared to the flexible body portion or chain l0 forming the body of the circular knitting needle. It is particularly contemplated in this invention that a series of pairs of needle tips of various standard sizes and lengths, and even of assorted various shapes are provided for selective and replaceable engagement with the threaded terminals 22 of the flexible chain It). By this means, it is possible to economically manufacture a circular knitting needle which may be easily converted to a variety of specialized uses by the mere replacement of its needle points.

It is a further very important feature of the invention that the conical end l8 of the angularly inclined portion it of the shank I2 shall be tapered to smoothly merge with the extremities of flexible chain l0 whereby knitting received upon the needles may be easily slid thereon and over the engagement between the shank l2 and the chain.

Since numerous modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, after a. consideration of the accompanying specification and drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A circular knitting needle comprising a pair of shanks each having a tapered point at one end and an angulated portion having a tapered extremity at the other end, a flexible rod-like chain secured to said tapered extremities, the end links of said chain having longitudinal screw threaded extensions, axial bores in said tapered extremities receiving said screw threaded extension.

VIRGINIA M. DELANEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,999,691 Graham Apr. 30,1935 2,043,958 Engel June 9, 1936 2,093,631 Burnham Sept. 21, 1937 2,230,495 Kohlmann Feb. 4, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 173,618 Great Britain Jan. 6, 1922 407,145 Great Britain Mar. 15, 1934 499,427 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1939 

